Habs’ training camp kicks off in Brossard (Video)

A finalist for the Calder Trophy in his rookie season, Brendan Gallagher sounds like his feet are planted firmly on the ground as he heads into his sophomore year with the Habs.

“I played one year,” Gallagher told reporters on the first day of the Canadiens’ training camp Wednesday in Brossard. “It was an OK year, but it can get better. And there’s still a lot to be accomplished in the league and things to get done and learn.

“So I’m looking forward to this year. There’s lots of areas in my game that can grow and I just want to be a part of a winning team.”

Gallagher stuck to the same focus in his off-season training: lower body, power, quickness and agility.

“To be a smaller guy and to be effective you need to be the hardest-working guy on the ice,” he said. “You need to continue to work on your quickness and power. And for me every summer that’s my focus. So I come in every year trying to build on that and so far it’s been working.”

Gallagher also plans to stick with No. 11 after giving up No. 73 in February to Michael Ryder when the Canadiens acquired him from the Dallas Stars.

Fifty-five players are attending the camp, which kicked off Wednesday morning with medicals and physical testing. The rookies skated in the morning.

Alex Galchenyuk (left in photo above, with P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty) is also heading into his sophomore season after a successful rookie year.

“I just have to stay consistent because there were moments when I didn’t score for 12 games. And I didn’t score for 18 games. Then I had a stretch where I scored quite a bit towards the end of the (season),” said Galchenyuk, adding he wants to bring that momentum to this season.

At the Canadiens’ annual golf tournament last week, coach Michel Therrien said Galchenyuk will have more responsibilities and “time will tell us when he’s going to be ready to be a centreman.

“We all understand that Alex eventually will be a centreman. But he’s only 19 years old,” Therrien told reporters then.

Galchenyuk said he feels confident and comfortable on the wing.

“I trust the coaches. They know what they’re doing. I just have to go out there every time I’m on the ice and make something happen.”

Canadiens prospect Louis Leblanc, who has been working with sports psychologists, said he’s ready and focused. Leblanc, the Habs’ first-round draft pick in 2009, is coming off a disappointing season with the Hamilton Bulldogs after suffering a high-ankle sprain last fall.

Which means someone is on the way out. Right now the roster is at 23 and thats with Tinordi making the team. Emelin comes back and the Habs are on over the roster limit with 24 and over cap by a few hairs. Signing Gagner would put them over the roster and salary caps so if there’s any truth to it they’re waiting until for another deal to go through first.

These are often the types of things I hear too. But that’s too easy to say: “He’s small and only good because of his linemates”. Re: the latter, the same can be said about many players (Chris Kunitz comes to mind), but I don’t hold that against them so vehemently, and others don’t seem to either. So what gives with the DD hate?

I am now expecting a full blown rant about why DD is so horrible and responsible for all the ills of this team… and the world.

Nooooooo..don`t ….Some things you do not touch and do not try to understand. There is a trend with so called habs fans that forces you to have a scapegoat. With Gomez being bought out, they needed someone. So even if Cole was traded and Max playing injured D.D. was the perfect target. Nevermind if everyone was happy when he signed his new deal praising Bergevin for not waiting till the end of the season to act. And some of course won`t admit it but since he is french…

For me D.D. is a Gallagher type of player that every team wants.Only knows one way to play hockey at 100%. Never had it easy always had to fight and prove himself and always came through. Not worried that he will be a precious asset for the habs.
But guess who won`t admit it ?

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but it seemed to me that DD couldn’t win many faceoffs. He really likes to crouch over the faceoff circle and seemed to be thrown out by the linesman on a regular basis towards the end of last year. If he stood up, he seemed to lose far too many. He also seemed to get more than his share of power play time but of course this is no reason for him to be hated. I have always considered him to be a vary hard working player that has to make up for a lack of size, with extra effort.

My darkhorse to watch this season is Bourque. He was one of the few bright spots in the playoffs…thought he played extremely well with Pleks. If he can return to that form this season, I think he’ll do very well — we could see a return to the 25-30 goal range. (stay healthy!!)

Is it me, or is he a little more pessimistic about the Habs than the Leafs?
The Habs didn’t trade or release anyone of substance over the summer, but the Leafs certainly did.
I’m not sure I’m in agreement with McKenzie on this.

A. His employer owns a major share of the Leafs, a minor share of the Habs.
B. Leafs did add a couple marquee role players in Clarkson and Bolland, a potential #1 goalie and they signed the greatest player ever named Kadri.
C. He works in Toronto.
D. repeat steps A, B, C.

They Habs have just laid down the gauntlet…..daring anyone to try to crack that lineup. Those lines and that tam are not set in stone…BUT…as of rigth now they are the most logical and current depth chart. To top it off….they are a heck of a depth chart…Parros will get worked in but WOW. LEt us suppose Elelr Galchenyuk and Gallagher repeat last year and don;t even grow…just stay the same…..they are still as good as almost any 2nd line. Pleks-Gio-Bourque is as steady as it gets….three guys who all work hard, can all score, play defensviely responsible and lead by example.
That leaves us with DD’s line….DD may actually have the most potent linemates on the club. Pacioretty is the teams best scorer until proven otherwise and Briere is a veteran scoring machine who can still contribute…he has not lost much speed and is aan elite pp guy over his career. All three Habs lines can be rolled out on a pp wwithout so much as missing a shift….you do not need to make any adjustments for pp’s….pk’s? yes, but nothing on the pp’s….and that to me is pretty damn intimidating to play against.
If you kill a Habs penalty they still follow it up with 2nd line or better?sometimes if they wish they can instead unload and energy line…how exactl.y do teams defened that? The answer is to have a really good goaile, d corps and have your top line be so elite that with the help of the others they outscore the Habs 3 lines …..not many teams boast that type of roster. Chicago and Pittsburgh come to mind…and even then they are very susceptiible.

Injury? The Habs have an injury to any top nine guy and they have not one but 2 centers in waiting. This is exclsung guys like Leblanc who could fill in if necessary. There will also be depth at wing……and I still hold out a glimmer of hope that team will even upgrade further and pursue Morrow.

Now on D? The habs defense is as complete as any D in the entire league now when healthy…….offense (markov, subban, Diaz, beaulieu) Defense (Subban, Emelin, Gorges, Bouillon, Murray)
Physical presence?
The habs can now be considered among the NHL’s tougher half of teams safely.
OF their 12 forwards listed plus Parros….they have 2 enforcers (Parros, Prust), Murray and Moen who can fight anyone if need be, White, Bourque, Bouillon,Emelin (who shouldn;t but will fight), Subban(who shouldn’t fight but will fight Tinordi ….Gallagher will fight lightweights…
Bodychecking? as good as any team in the NHL from the backend….forwards have several big guys. Net Presence? Gallagher and Gio may be small but are fearless in front….and with bigger bodies supporting everyone they will get away with more and be vulnerable to less after the whistle intimidation.
Speed? Also an elite team speed wise…get a little slower with Parros and Murray…sacrifice willing to make as top 9 are as skilled andfast as any in the NHL.
Goaltending? That depneds on which Carey Price shows up…..last year it must be remembered that he was doing very, very well until a bad stretch obliterated his stats. The fact the team does not have anyone with teh ability to share more of the burden concerns me(I like Budaj but a more stable backup could be put in sooner to avoid longer confidence sucking stretches).

New goatending coach is wildcard, Olympic year could either drive Price to be his best or drive him insane.

That folks on paper is one fantastic looking hockey team….I know people point out last years issues but what could be addressed IMop has been and health combined with some luck and an outduelling of netminding last year led to the Habs downfall…..the team overall was IMo a top 8 team in the NHL…and that was last year.

Things always look great from our vantage point going into the season. Unfortunately, the team could easily finish in the lottery…the disparity between teams is so small that a bad start or a couple of key injuries can sink any team (see the 2012-13 Flyers, who had a much more talented top-9 last season than what the Habs are featuring this year, but they could not overcome the loss of Pronger and the flakiness of Bryzgalov).

I like the Habs’ forward depth…they lack a superstar (at least until Galchenyuk develops more), so they need to try to win using the Boston Bruins model of three strong scoring lines that can hurt the opposition.

The Achilles heel of the Canadiens could be the fact that so many of its forwards (Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Desharnais, Pacioretty, Briere, and Parros) are mediocre to brutal defensively. If the scoring goes down, the Habs could be in trouble.

Montreal’s defensive performance last season was only marginally better (2.58 GA/G vs. 2.61 GA/G) than the previous season, where they earned a top-3 overall pick. The defensive game and Price’s goaltending were weak in both cases.

Montreal scored 3.04 goals per game last season, good for fourth in the NHL. They can see that drop off a little and still do well in the standings, but any appreciable drop will see them fighting for a playoff spot. We’ve seen the Habs pile up goals with a youth-laden roster full of promise (2007-08) only to see that it was a house of cards. I want to see them do it for two or three years in a row before I’m willing to hazard a guess on how good the forwards really are.

I think The Bruins adopted that model from the Habs a few years back after the Habs beating them. I just can;t see this team struggling to score….and the depth is there now that I can;t see injuries being nearly as much of a factor. Leblanc, Thomas, Paterny, Tinordi and Beaulieu would all be challenging for roster spots on weak teams. Collberg and Nygren perhaps in some cases if they had a good camp as well.
The goaltending being average and even reasonable health and everything is fine…of course if the injuries get too out of control there will be issues but 3 lines houls pretty well be on the attack for the majority of their shifts….

I have it too, my biggest issue is I never get a power play, its a minor thing, but as someone who wants a hockey experience id like to be on the pp a bit more than the pk lol. Faceoffs are also getting on my nerves, but thats more my fault lol.

I have to agree with you Bill the 94 part is really funny, I quite enjoy that.

So I appreciate Diaz as a skilled defenceman with little NHL experience, and recognize he is much better suited to have a physical responsible dman as his partner.

Does this mean I am not allowed to hope that Diaz is replaced in the next 2 years with a player who brings the elements Diaz has, and is more physical? Or does this then immediately cast me as a poster who endorses fighting, knuckle dragging and the general mistreatment of other human beings.

I have nothing against the guy either. I just think Markov and Subban will supply more than enough offense from the back end. And I’d rather see Gorges, Emelin, Tinordi and Murray taking the other four spots after those two.

Thanks twi’, obviously my point is a simple one though. It seems quite often here, that the minute a person mentions how he wishes a particular position was filled with a similar talented player with more physicality then it is assumed that person doesn’t understand hockey and is only hoping to watch fights.

Bettman and company have made it clear that they want a very rough and tumble game. I recognize players like Lidstrom, Markov, Niedermayer, Campbell, (and others) have excelled and even been elite without being overtly physical. I just don’t think Diaz will become a Markov. He is a nice complimentary dman who is a much better player when paired with an Emelin type dman. Just the same Emelin is complimented by Diaz.

I have some hope for Murray, but seems to me he should or will be on our 3rd pairing. Bouillion is a warrior and courageous but feel he is really on his last legs as an effective every day player.

All reports on Beaulieu is that he spent the entire off season in Montreal training with the Habs strength and conditioning coach. I think he concentrated too much on building muscle mass and forgot to work on his cardio. I don’t think he spent his summer drinking beer, golfing and eating poutine. I hope he is given the chance to prove himself this training camp. I hope he didn’t damage his shoulder too badly today.

Emelin was hurt on April 6 against the Bruins. People point to that injury as the root of the Habs’ defensive struggles. This ignores the fact that the struggles had already begun. Consider the goalie stats by month:

Emelin’s injury cannot account for both Budaj’s and Price’s GAA jumping by about 0.9 goals against per game in the month of March. Nor am I laying that solely on Price, as the April stats of Budaj might (wrongly, IMO) suggest.

Instead, there was a convergence of factors: Price’s play was noticeably worse, the Swarm was becoming decreasingly effective, and the heavy minutes to some key players were undoubtedly taking a toll in the condensed schedule.

Placing so much emphasis on Emelin’s injury ignores the fact that the storm clouds were already visible for a month before he went down. The team’s record did not reflect the problem because they were scoring goals at an unsustainable pace in March. When the goals dried up, the ugly defensive problems were laid bare for all to see.

If people need to point at one injury that led to the Habs defensive struggles, I would argue it was that of the much-maligned Raphael Diaz. His injury on February 25 preceded a 10 game stretch where the Habs conceded 32 goals. They righted the ship for a few games, and then lost Emelin as well. The loss of two top-5 defencemen was too much for the team’s depth.

I’m probably in the minority on this one (although I think JF is with me), but I see Diaz as a Gorges-esque positional defender that can block shots, but with significantly more offensive capability. On most teams, that would make him a very desirable commodity. For Montreal, some fans can only see “smurf”.

You and I don’t always agree, Chris, but I’m with you 100% on this one.
Watching Diaz, especially early in the year when he showed up with some games in his system and before he went down, I found him very effective.
Smart in his puck handling. Tape-to-tape passes. He and Emelin were very effective.

Diaz’s quickness is very impressive. His first few steps are extremely quick and he arrives at a loose puck first and with some time to spare – time that he needs to make good decisions and execute on them.

The Habs had an abundance of puckmovers last year (including Kaberle and Drewiske). The D was out of balance because aside from Emelin and Boullion there was no physical presence. No one could move any bodies out of the crease area. Pinning the Habs in and cycling was all that had to be done to score, and we all saw this last season over and over again.
Diaz, like Weber, can use a change of scenery. Perhaps, the Habs can get a serviceable return for him.

@Bri- not a fan of Dmen that can’t play physical. His offense in the playoffs? 0-0-0 and -4, while averaging 22:22 TIO.

@Chris- Subban likes to make the spectacular open-ice hit that takes him out of the play, aside from his penchant for slew-footing. He is not as punishing a hitter as Emelin (by far). This is the only attribute PK needs to be better at. He is a pretty complete package, and only 24.

Subban, Emelin and Bouillon were all regulars last season. They are all physical presences. If they weren’t used optimally, i.e., Subban not being used on the penalty kill (edited), then we should lay that at the feet of Therrien.

A defence corps with Subban, Murray, and Bouillon gives the Habs plenty of physicality. When Emelin returns, it will likely be Bouillon that slides into the 7th spot. Tinordi is also on the horizon, and he is a physical stay-at-home type.

With Markov soon to depart, trading Diaz now would be the height of short-sighted. Who will play on the second wave of the power play next season? Murray, Bouillon, Tinordi and Gorges are all terrible options. No, the Habs should not deal Diaz, who was a key contributor to a very good team, unless his play drops off significantly from last season.

Beaulieu could easily be a couple of years away. In the meantime, Diaz can fill that role of #2 PP quarterback and is a strong-positional defender.

You’re right, Chris, I’m with you. But I think Diaz is overall better than Gorges (except maybe when it comes to blocking shots). I think he reads the play better and generally makes better decisions with the puck.

I think an important point you are making is that it it was not the loss of Emelin as the cause, but the lack of depth to replace him, with the Diaz injury contributing to the lack of depth. The order in which they were lost maybe irrelevant.

However it is clear to me watching the games that the D pairings really fell apart after they also lost Emelin. Gorges even said as much at the golf tournament.

There were two high scoring games right at the beginning of March, 7-6 against Pittsburgh and 6-3 against the Islanders. If you remove these two games as anomalies, Price’s March numbers for the remaining games are more consistent with his Jan/Feb numbers. As well if you compare Price’s stats in the eight games before the injury and the eight games after, there is a dramatic difference in SV% that coincides with the Emelin injury, or more accurately, as you point out, that coincides with the team’s defensive depth being completely gutted.

Looking at the defensemen invited to camp, I still don’t see an obvious replacement for Emelin, someone who can play on the 2nd pairing with Markov or Diaz. They will probably end up together which did not look good last year. Let’s hope someone steps up.

Although Brian Wilde was tweeting that White didn’t show up in the best of shape.
And Renaud Lavoie was saying that Beaulieu struggled during the rookie camp.
Perhaps they both need a little conditioning.

Always disappointing to hear of players showing up in substandard condition. Don’t know if White was nursing any injuries over the summer, but you wonder how any NHL player can turn up out of shape in these days of hyper-fitness.

Physical strength is not cardio conditioning however. I understand your point and I accept the idea that he was in Brossard. If the young man is breathing heavily it’s because his cardio is not up to par. That’s what Gaston Therrien seems to be saying. Am I wrong?

Sorry, it wasn’t Renaud Lavoie, Frank.
It was in fact Gaston Therrien.
Here’s his blog.
Check out at 8:54. (“Lots of shots. Beaulieu is struggling”)
And again on RDS the other night, he complained that Beaulieu was sucking wind.

I feel as though I have missed much of Murray’s career, not seeing many Sharks games, so I can’t picture this toughness that he is being touted for. Not suggesting he doesn’t bring that aspect, just anxious to see how it actually looks game-to-game.

I will be in shock if the Leafs manage to sign Franson they have less than 2 million to do so. Next off season will be very funny I Toronto can lock up both Kessel and Phaneuf, one or both will be gone haha.

He is the definition of an AHL call up. A guy you wouldn’t mind filling in on the 4th, maybe 3rd line for a few games, but not someone who should be in the long term NHL plans. He also provides great veteran support for the kids in Hamilton. Someone I like having in the system, but not someone who we should be banking on holding a regular line up spot.

look I’m not a big fan of fighting. but if I was blunden I would consider it. He’s 6’4. He skates very well – but his offensive skills are 4th line NHL level. If he developed a nastiness around his game, if he played on the edge and fought much more regularly I think he could be making 600,000 somewhere in the NHL instead of 125,000 in hamilton.

That’s the difference between White and Blunden.

White is ready to fight anyone to stay in the NHL and keep the NHL minimum salary – which makes him much more financially secure than a player like Blunden.

I don’t need fighting to enjoy the NHL but the players on that 4th line like Blunden should consider it.

Blunden is a great example of a guy with size (6’3″, 213 pounds) posting a huge junior year as a 19 year old (46 goals and 84 points in 60 games) playing against boys in the OHL. He is also a very good skater for a big guy.

Unfortunately, his strength advantage in the NHL was non-existent and he simply didn’t have enough talent or speed to make up for it. Too bad…I’ve always felt he could be a serviceable fourth line player on the right team.

They would get 5 teams in the playoffs and the other division would get 3. I think we will see that scenario play out in the Western Conference: Los Angeles, Vancouver and Anaheim should all make the playoffs, and San Jose could easily make it along with one of Edmonton (so much young talent) or Phoenix (very good coaching).

Just looked at the photo gallery again,I wish I was young now, guys didn’t look like that in the 60’s,even on the street you see young guys like that nowadays.
The one big difference about eye candy for us girls,is we know it’s all real,not like the pics that the men drool over,breast implants,liposuction,hip implants or what ever.It’s great being a woman.
GO HABS GO

Since they aren’t getting rid of the shootout we might as well accept it. So, since there is a shootout, why would the go out of the way to stifle any of it’s creativity?

These brain-dead hockey dinosaurs seem to not understand the world of entertainment and the professional sports audience. They consistently make decisions that hinder their product, and the professionals who comment on the game are by-and-large negative about it.
I think it’s safe to say that as consumers we want to be entertained and, for the most part, we find offense entertaining.
The spin-o-rama is entertaining. It’s also fun, and it is well within the rule of the game.
Some people say that the shootout should be removed because it is ‘not hockey’ and more akin to a QB throwing a ball through a hoop.
Well, the shootout is a hockey play (it’s a penalty shot!) and the spin-o-rama is a legal move during any normal hockey play. So what’s the issue with it?
The shootout is also more like ending a football game with field goals, not a throwing accuracy drill. (That’d be the empty net w/ four targets).

Regarding the motion of the puck, Shootouts should be managed with the same rules of a Penalty Shot. And a Penalty Shot should be managed with the same rules of a breakaway.

NFL gets it. They protect the heck out of QBs and allow receivers the leeway to try and make plays. They make rules that encourage and support offense.
The NHL allows and promotes the opposite. Defenders are allowed to cheat. When a cheater cheats so much that they decide he should be punished, they give the cheater’s team a HUGE bonus by allowing them to ice the puck.

The meatheads who comment on the game often talk about making the safe, boring play as if it is the ideal. Yes…. “Off the Glass and Out” is more virtuous than a long bomb pass attempt for a breakaway.
Heaven forbid the guy should put it OVER the glass and out of play. Then we get to listen to how dumb the league is for making it a penalty. Not how dumb the player is for missing 10 feet of wall and glass, on the routine play that he has had drilled into him for his 20+ years of playing hockey…
‘Off the Glass’ is the professional hockey player’s D-chord. Can you imagine a professional musician screwing up a simple ‘D’ and then the audience saying “Well, D-chord’s are tough, and its a fast song…”

@Kooch:

RE: “It isn’t really fair to the goalies at all. Any motion not going forward it should be over.”

Then I suggest that any goalie motion that isn’t skating backwards or laterally is unfair to the shooter and it should be considered a goal.

Maybe they should stand at the hash marks and just take wristers, while goalies stand still?

I think the rationale behind the rule is to prevent a guy from taking a 10 or 20 second penalty shot…having a guy go in, no chance, he circles again…goalies slides, he goes back again,etc,etc and goalie is exhausted and player advantage. That is the spirit of the rule….they have to be careful because if that is not guarded against…in some meaningful game it will happen. I am not sure of the curent wording but I get why they used to have the forward motion rule there.

OK I understand what you are saying here (and HiB below) but the forward puck motion wording should also prevent a shooter from cradling the puck back to ‘load-up’ a wrister, or dangle around a poke check. Heck even a backhand-forehand deke when taking a wide angle to the net may violate the forward motion rule.

With the exception of time (1 stroke for slow play?) and direct violation of any rule used in hockey (high stick, initiating goalie contact) I think they should allow the shooter (and goalie) every option allowed during a regular hockey play.

Simplest solution: time limit on shoot out attempts. I’m not sure what the average time for a shoot out is, but I’d think 5 seconds would be plenty to get ‘er done. Anything goes (within normal playing rules) during that time.

Alternate solution: have a defender chasing down the shooter. Defender starts at opposite blueline. Again, anthing goes (within normal playing rules) until goalie has frozen puck or puck has been cleared from zone.

Once again, hockey is not ‘entertainment’. It’s sport.
WWE is entertainment.

By your rationale, whatever will entertain fans will eventually be allowed because of ‘market demand’. This is all well and good except for the fact that fans don’t know what they want. They often think they do, but when they get what they want, they realise that they don’t actually want it, never did, and get it the feck out of the game (see puck, blue).

Some things that fans would find entertaining:
– Novely helmets in shapes of animals
– Music playing during the game to create more ‘atmosphere’
– Goalie equipment that flashes whenever puck comes in contact with it
– Circles under players to illustrate who has the puck

As soon as ‘entertainment’ becomes the priority over ‘sport’ is when hockey dies.

But sport is entertainment. The two are no longer seperate. Sure, Hockey is Sport first, and WWE is Entertainment using Sport as it’s medium… but Sport is Entertainment. It is the priority. after all, it’s all about the cash. And there is a reason the West Coast teams play at 4pm when the Leafs are in town…

Re: The things fans find entertaining… a little bit of a stretch there… (But i can appreciate that, seems the type of thing I do! haha)… Some (a?) European league does have the leading scorer wear an Golden helmet.
I think the Shootout is a pretty grounded attempt at coming to a conclusion.

(The singer is probably trying to intentionally prevent the guitar player from playing the D chord. The Bass player is too… just not intentionally).

“The shootout is a hockey play.”
Baseball should do a homerun derby then, instead of continuing to play a team game after nine innings then. Basketball should go to foul shots to solve a tie in a team game.
The shootout is the braindead invention of soccer. It guarantees lots of ties and not trying to win in regulation.
My solution is simple: 0 points for the loser. This will stop teams from “playing for the tie” as right now the rules guarantees them a point for FAILING to score.

Baseball/Basketball allow unlimited OT. I’m not saying that should be changed. I’d rather unlimited OT in hockey, but don’t have that anymore. The reality is, we have a shootout.
So instead of lamenting the glory days, we may as well work with it instead of trying to make it something less than it already is.

You have a shootout: So, do you want a shootout or a crappier version of a shootout. That’s where they are now…

As for points: I’d prefer 3-2-1 points, IF they are going to give the loser a point. (Or 2 W & 0 L).

(Basketball also only plays a 48 minute game, because I assume, some youth group booked the gym at 11pm).

They didn’t sign him. Was a rumour in mid August which has since died down. Evidently a recent Massachusetts by-law banning the sale of Propecia hair care products was completely unrelated to the signing not happening.